Tuesday, June 24, 2008

University of Calgary Funds Open Access Authors Fund

There was a great announcement yesterday here at the U of C. The text below differs a little from the official press release.

Thomas Hickerson, Vice Provost for Libraries and Cultural Resources and University Librarian, announced today the establishment of an annual $100,000 Authors Fund to provide University of Calgary faculty and graduate students with financial support to cover Open Access author fees.

Open Access publishing is a rapidly expanding development in the exchange of research information. An increasing number of academic journals make research literature openly available via the internet without the restrictions on authors and without the high costs to users imposed by traditional subscription-based publications.

This new publishing model does, however, often require that authors pay fees contributing to the costs of publication. With the establishment of this new fund, the first of this magnitude in Canada, researchers at the University of Calgary will have the freedom to exercise their own choice in publishing decisions.

As concerns regarding copyright restrictions grow and subscription costs continue to rise, Open Access publishing is emerging as the best hope for a sustainable and responsible course of action for the future of scholarly communication. As described by Calgary’s Vice President for Research, Dr. Rose Goldstein, “The Open Access movement is a significant initiative in bringing our research activity more quickly and broadly to the awareness of the scholarly community and to the public at large. The establishment of this fund by Libraries and Cultural Resources is a crucial development for our faculty and graduate students.”

Open Access publishing allows authors to retain copyright control over their work and promotes broad educational use of the latest information. Open Access is also a key means by which university research can serve the larger community, providing public access to the new findings in everything from cancer treatment to global warming.

In voicing his enthusiasm for this action, Thomas Hickerson explained that this initiative responds positively to concerns for scholarly communication internationally. “I am proud that the University of Calgary is taking leadership in this movement to increase the worldwide accessibility of cutting-edge research.”